


An Acorn and A Weed

by BlackPolaris



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Author has never been to therapy tho, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Therapy, Treebros, its my best guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 10:15:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25847911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackPolaris/pseuds/BlackPolaris
Summary: Evan and Connor both need help. With both anxiety and depression weighing them down, as well as less than helpful friends and family, their therapist decides they need to meet and help each other. Gradually, the two become friends and attempt to tackle life together. Slowburn Treebros, platonic to romantic. Working title. Updates random. Rated for bad language and mental disorders.
Relationships: Evan Hansen & Connor Murphy, Evan Hansen & Heidi Hansen, Evan Hansen & Jared Kleinman, Evan Hansen/Connor Murphy
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I feel obligated to warn you guys of a few things. 
> 
> 1\. I’ve never been to therapy. Everything is something I’ve gathered from various sources and things I think would help. In no way is this going to be accurate. Constructive criticism is encouraged. 
> 
> 2\. This is a SLOW-BURN for TREEBROS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. 
> 
> 3\. I do not have depression or anxiety. Or at least, I’ve never been diagnosed with it. I’m trying my best. 
> 
> 4\. Updates are so random. I’ve got so much going on, and other fics to handle. Apologies. 
> 
> 5\. I am in no way trying to romanticize mental illness. These are just part of the characters, and it is a ship I enjoy. I want them to get help, and they just happen to properly meet in therapy.
> 
> 6\. (last one I promise) I do not own the characters. If you don’t realize this, then you must be new to this whole fanfiction thing. Or something. I forget to put this disclaimer all the time, so this will just cover the whole fic.

Mrs. Murphy walked into the therapy office, casting a glance backwards.

“Ah, Mrs. Murphy! How can I help you?” Dr. Sherman greeted her.

“Hello, Doctor. I have some questions about my son Connor…?”

“Connor, hm?” Dr. Sherman led Mrs. Murphy farther into the office. “How is he, by the way? Is he taking his meds?”

“...No…” Mrs. Murphy fiddled with her wedding ring, sitting down at the desk across from the therapist. “I don’t know what to do. He doesn’t talk to me about school or anything, and his attitude is getting worse. And…” she choked on tears.

“And…” Dr. Sherman prompted.

Mrs. Murphy pulled a piece of paper out of her purse and handed it to Dr. Sherman. “I found this yesterday.”

“...I see.” Dr. Sherman took off his glasses. “I assume he is at school right now?”

“Yes.”

Dr. Sherman nodded. “Alright. I’d like you to bring him in at four o’clock today. I think I have a solution…”

“But Larry won’t-”

“I won’t charge you for this appointment, Mrs. Murphy.” Dr. Sherman assured. “I think helping these kids is more important than little green pieces of paper.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“I do believe I have a phone call to make,” Dr. Sherman said. “Please excuse me.”

Mrs. Murphy left to the waiting room while Dr. Sherman picked up his phone, dialing a number. He sighed when he was sent to voicemail. He then went to the woman’s work number, but was sent to voicemail again.

He looked at the third number on the list; his patient’s. The kid probably wouldn’t pick up. So, Dr. Sherman opened a text conversation.

_Dr. Sherman: Hello Evan, do you mind if we make your appointment today a joint session? No added cost._


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan goes to his after-school therapy session.

Evan stuffed his textbooks into his locker. It was the first day of school, so he didn’t have too much homework. Maybe he could watch a movie or something at home…

He was just considering _Tangled_ as a potential movie choice when he saw the therapy letter he wrote at the bottom of his bag. He groaned internally. Right, the appointment. All of his movie plans vanished in an instant.

Evan shut his locker, revealing one Jared Kleinman behind it. “Hey, Acorn! Just reminding you, tell your mom I gave you lunch money today, yeah? Gotta keep that car insurance coming!”

“...” Evan offered Jared a weak smile and a nod, but his family friend was already going on about the summer camp he went to a few weeks back. Evan had heard every possible detail about this camp three times over, and could repeat it - backwards.

As much as Evan didn’t want to hear about it anymore (it almost felt like Jared was rubbing it in his face…) and tune it out, Evan listened politely, laughing at all of the parts he knew he was supposed to. He didn’t want to lose the one person who actually talked to him, even if it was for some car insurance.

Someone bumped into his shoulder. He turned to look, muttering a soft “Sorry!”, and recognized the matted hair that brushed past him.

Connor Murphy.

“Seriously, what’s that guy’s deal?” Jared’s voice dropped. Evan looked at him with wide eyes. “He looks like he’s homeless or something.”

Evan shrugged, torn between wanting to tell Jared that that wasn’t a very nice thing to say and not wanting Jared to turn on him.

“All this talk about his ‘depression’,” Jared snorted. “‘S not even a real thing.”

Evan jerked. “Depression’s a real thing!”

Jared raised a brow. “Yeah? Like your anxiety?”

“Yes!” Evan shrunk a little. “It’s, you know, a mental thing.”

“Uh huh.” Jared shook his head. “You’re not a loony, just _really_ shy. And a bit paranoid. And Mr. School-shooter isn’t sad, he’s just emo.”

“You want to call me emo again, Kleinman?” a voice said.

Jared and Evan looked up to see Connor looming over them. Evan was suddenly struck by the observation that Connor had two different colored eyes. _Heterochromia,_ his mind supplied.

“Sure. You’re emo, Murphy.” Jared lifted his chin defiantly. He looked pretty intimidating, Evan thought. Even though he was shorter than Connor was.

“Is that what you think?” Connor’s eyes shifted to Evan, who tensed.

There was a tense pause as Evan shook his head and breathed a “No.” Connor regarded Evan emotionlessly before turning and leaving.

“Emo _and_ a coward,” Jared muttered. Evan shook his head minutely, but Jared didn’t notice.

The two made their way to the parking lot, where Jared got into his car. Evan hesitated. He knew Jared was waiting for him to get in the car, but he had his appointment, which was the opposite direction from Jared’s house.

Jared, getting impatient, rolled down the passenger and shouted: “Come on, Hansen!”

Evan jumped slightly, then got in the car. He’d just walk there, like he’d planned. He’ll probably be a little late.

His anxiety didn’t like that at all. But, he reasoned, that was preferable to the possibility of losing his only friend. Jared didn’t think Evan needed therapy, but Evan knew he should go. He actually kind of liked it. Dr. Sherman didn’t judge him and some of his suggestions actually made it easier to deal with his anxiety.

Jared stopped in front of Evan’s house and let out a loud sigh when Evan didn’t immediately unbuckle. Evan bit the inside of his lip and unbuckled, grabbing his bag and exiting the vehicle. He shut the door, offering Jared a wave. Jared gave him a brief smile and drove away.

Evan started walking toward his door, swiftly turning around when Jared’s car turned the corner. He took off back toward the school. It was only 3:10, and his appointment started at 3:30. He could make it.

Evan made it to the office at 3:34. He knocked on the door, panting, and Dr. Sherman opened it.

“Ah! I was afraid you weren’t going to make it again, Evan.” Dr. Sherman greeted.

“S-sorry, I’m late…”

“It’s alright. Your mother couldn’t make it?”

“No. She’s at the hospital still.”

Evan entered the office, glancing around for the other people who were supposed to be there. Dr. Sherman noticed him looking around.

“Our guests aren’t going to be here for the first half of our appointment. It wouldn’t be fair to take away all of your personal time, would it?”

“I guess not.” Evan mumbled.

“So, did you write a letter today?”

Evan nodded, taking the paper out of his bag and handing it over to the therapist. Dr. Sherman read the contents and sighed a little. Evan’s heartbeat sped up a little before the doctor spoke.

“You haven’t eaten a meal with your mother this week?”

Evan relaxed a tad. “No. But that’s okay!” he waved his hands a little. “She’s busy with work.”

Dr. Sherman scribbled something on his paper. Whenever he did that, it was either for a good reason or a bad one. Evan watched, heart sinking. That was most likely a bad reason, this time.

Dr. Sherman set the note aside. “So, how’s Jared?”

“He’s good, I think,” Evan replied. “He told me about the summer camp he went to.” He then went on to summarize the camp for Dr. Sherman.

Evan was telling Dr. Sherman about the assignment the math teacher had given that day when a knock came from the door. Evan stiffened and clamped his mouth shut.

“Calm down, Evan. It’s going to be fine.” Dr. Sherman assured.

The door opened and a lady Evan didn’t recognize stuck her head in. “Hello again, Dr. Sherman.”

“Come in, come in.” Dr. Sherman beckoned her in. The lady opened the door wider and walked inside, and none other than _Connor Murphy_ followed after her, hood up and a pair of earbuds blasting music.

Evan’s eyes widened and he shrunk. He hadn’t gotten around to telling Dr. Sherman about the incident earlier - or any other such incidents.

Connor hadn’t looked up from his phone. He plopped down in the chair next to Evan, and the woman Evan assumed to be Mrs. Murphy sat down by the door.

“Thank you so much for this, Doctor.” Mrs. Murphy said breathlessly. She sounded a bit harried. “I cannot express how much this means to me.”

“Yes, well, here’s hoping this will be beneficial to all parties.” Dr. Sherman nodded. “Would you like to continue what you were saying, Evan?”

Evan jumped, eyes widening. His body stiffened. “I- um...”

Dr. Sherman offered a soft smile. “It’s alright, you don’t have to. It’s difficult to share around strangers! That’s perfectly normal. And I’ve forgotten introductions! Evan Hansen, Connor Murphy, and his mother, of course.”

Evan nodded jerkily at the Murphys, uttering a soft “hello”. Mrs. Murphy nodded back, a friendly smile on her face. Connor did nothing, only turning his music up higher. Evan could recognize it now - _Kill the Lights,_ by Set It Off. That was a good one, he thought.

Mrs. Murphy clearly had other ideas. “Connor, turn off that ridiculous noise and pay attention. This is for you, anyway.”

Connor glanced up at her, sighed, and pulled out his earbuds. Music continued pouring out of them until Connor turned off his phone. Evan caught a glimpse of the screen - he had been playing the music through YouTube, which explained why it just stopped when the phone shut off. Connor shifted his position so he had one leg pulled up onto the chair, the other calmly tucked under it. He rested his head on his knee, sandwiching his hands.

Evan stared at Connor’s posture, wondering how he could find such a position comfortable, or even how he didn’t feel ashamed in the slightest. Connor suddenly glanced at him - Evan was once again struck by his dual-colored eyes - and Evan flinched away, averting his gaze to Dr. Sherman. The therapist was watching him, gaze interested.

“Do you know Connor, Evan?”

Evan winced, looking down at the ground. “We go to the same school,” he mumbled.

“Chin up, boy, you’re not going to get in trouble or anything.” Dr. Sherman shuffled around some papers, making a note.

“Can we hurry this up, Doc?” Connor spoke up, voice bored. “I’ve got things to do, you know.”

“Like this?” Dr. Sherman tossed a piece of paper toward Connor. The teen caught it between his hands. His gaze darkened, and he crumpled the paper. He glared at his mother. Evan suddenly felt out of place. Unfortunately, Connor and his mother were in between him and the door.

“Connor,” Dr. Sherman’s voice had no emotion. “Would you like to have this conversation in private?”

“Fuck this.” Connor stood up. “Mom, you didn’t have to waste your money. I’m out.”

“Don’t you dare walk out that door, young man.” Mrs. Murphy said sharply. “Or you’re grounded.”

Connor rolled his eyes, but he stopped in the doorway. Evan stared at the scene, confused.

“Let’s play a game.” Dr. Sherman changed the subject. He pulled out a stack of Uno cards and dealt seven cards to each person. “Evan and I made this game. We call it Confession. Instead of calling Uno when you only have one card left, you ‘confess’ something. Evan, why don’t you go first?”

Evan blinked down at his cards. He selected a yellow 7 and placed it next to the draw pile. Could everyone reach? Oh no, Mrs. Murphy might be too far, he should have placed it a little more to the right-

Connor put down a plus two card. Mrs. Murphy graciously drew her cards, and Dr. Sherman played his card. Around and around they went.

Eventually, Evan had only two cards left. Connor had two as well, Mrs. Murphy had too many to hold (Connor came at her with a vengeance) and Dr. Sherman had 6. Evan took a deep breath and put down a green 4.

“I’m tired of hearing about Jared’s summer camp.” Evan mumbled, well aware that Connor was staring at him. “H-he doesn’t talk about anything else, and it feels like he’s rubbing it in my face.”

Dr. Sherman nodded. “Why don’t you tell him that?”

Evan shook his head. “H-he’s happy talking about it, a-and I don’t want him to be angry or... or sad or anything.”

“Your feelings are important, too, Evan.” Dr. Sherman reminded him. “Try talking to him, and suggest something to do after. You’ve wanted to go to the laser tag place, right?”

Evan nodded jerkily, muttering “your turn” to Connor. Connor hesitated, then placed down a reverse card. “Back to you.”

Evan shook his head. “Confession.”

Connor sighed. “I’ve never smoked weed or anything. Never been high. That’s just a stupid rumor my sister brought home from school.”

Evan mouthed an “oh”. Connor didn’t say anything else, so Evan put down his last card. “I win, I guess.”

“Good job, Evan.” Dr. Sherman congratulated. He gathered the cards back up and put them away. “Mrs. Murphy, do you mind waiting outside?”

Mrs. Murphy gathered up her stuff, then left the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Now then-” Dr. Sherman was cut off by Connor raising a hand to cut him off. Connor opened the door, startling Mrs. Murphy, who was apparently listening at the door. She left to stay in the waiting room.

“Sorry,” Connor muttered. “Nosey woman.”

“It’s quite alright,” Dr. Sherman said. “It is important that you are comfortable. Now, as I was saying, we’ve finally gotten to the important part.”

Evan and Connor both looked at the therapist, confused. Dr. Sherman handed them both a half-sheet of paper. Evan saw only a phone number across the top. It was unfamiliar to him.

“Both of you are in need of a friend. A _real_ friend.” Dr. Sherman said. “And Evan, the relationship you have with Jared Kleinman is quite toxic. Do not argue with me.”

“Doc, what’re you playing at.” Connor sounded unimpressed.

“I want you all to at least have someone to talk to who you can relate to. I’ve given you each other’s phone numbers. Try to communicate daily, okay? Ask for the homework answers or a good morning message, or whatever. Do you think you two can manage that?”

Evan’s heart sank. A text message? _Every day?_ Was Dr. Sherman trying to torture him or something?

...At least it wasn’t phone calls.

Evan nodded. Connor eyed him, then sighed.

“Fine,” Connor grumbled.

“Awesome!” Dr. Sherman clapped his hands. “That is all for today. Evan, try to have at least a meal with your mother, alright? And Connor, I want you to at least wash your hair. Get those knots out. See you two later!”

“Good-bye, Dr. Sherman,” Evan said politely.

Connor followed him out into the hall. “Hansen.”

Evan glanced back fearfully. Connor grabbed his shoulder and turned him so they were facing each other. Connor’s eyes practically glowed under his hair.

“Don’t you _dare_ try to talk to me. In person, I mean. I…” Connor frowned, seemingly searching for words.

Evan dipped his head. “I won’t.” he mumbled.

“You need to speak up, shortstack.” Connor sighed. “Anyway, I don’t need to drag down another person. You know my reputation. You’ve got enough going on with Kleinman.”

Evan blinked in surprise. “Um, huh?”

Connor brushed past him, and then he was gone.

Evan looked at his shoes, confused. Connor… was worried about his… social reputation? Evan could almost laugh. To the school, he barely existed.

Ah. He’d left his backpack in the office. Oops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the ball’s rolling now. I’ve never attended a therapy session, so…… I hope this is at least somewhat accurate? If you are comfortable with sharing your own experiences, I’d appreciate if you PM me what a typical therapy session is like.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda feel bad for making Jared an even bigger jerk than he actually is. Not to say he isn’t a jerk, but still.
> 
> Warning for an instance of homophobia. Like I said, I made Jared a jerk...

Evan’s buzzing phone woke him up.

He checked the time - 4:54 am. 36 minutes before his alarm went off. Evan resisted the temptation to go back to sleep and got up to greet the morning.

But first, what caused his phone to buzz? Or rather, who? The only people whose numbers he had were his mom (who only made sure he had the necessities), Dr. Sherman (mostly check-ins and rescheduling appointments), and Jared (who never really messaged him anyway).

Oh, and Connor. Evan forgot about that. He turned on his phone.

Sure enough, the text message was from Connor.

_Connor Murphy: Day 1_

Evan sighed, typing in a reply.

_Evan Hansen: Day 1_

\---

Maybe it was just Evan, but Connor seemed to be hanging around him more often. When Evan commented on it to Jared, the other boy just laughed.

“Maybe he has a crush on you! Figures he’d be a fag, he’s weird enough to be one.”

Evan didn’t say anything after that.

The day passed in a blur. Evan vaguely noted his amount of homework piling up, but figured he’d have plenty of time after school to get it done. His mother would be working a shift at the hospital again that afternoon.

“There’s this party going on tomorrow at the MacNamara’s.” Jared said as a way of greeting when Evan approached his car at the end of the day. “So I won’t be able to take you home. You’ll have to get a ride.”

Evan simply nodded, getting into the car. The walk home from school was only about 15 minutes, so it wouldn’t be too bad. Evan ignored the tiny pang of hurt that Jared hadn’t invited him along. Jared didn’t really like Evan wanting to leave early. Or not drinking. Especially that.

Jared soon pulled up by Evan’s house, swiftly shooed him out of his car and drove away. Evan entered the house.

Evan finished his homework quickly, then popped in Tangled, like he had been planning yesterday. He quietly sang along to the songs while doodling little trees and flowers on a scrap piece of notebook paper. He didn’t think he was particularly good at singing, and his flowers didn’t look quite right, but no one else was home and this was what he wanted to do.

Soon enough, the movie finished and the TV screen turned blue. Evan didn’t immediately turn it off. He continued working on a doodle, humming a weird mis-mash of the song tunes. Eventually other Disney songs worked their way in.

_Mother knows best, listen to your mother, it’s a scary world out there- poor unfortunate souls, so sad-_

His phone buzzed, interrupting his steady stream of music.

Connor…?

Evan opened the message, curious. He stared in surprise at a cat meme.

How was he supposed to reply to that? He couldn’t leave it on read, that would be rude. What was it normal people wrote in response to something funny? LMAO? Evan was a bit uncomfortable with that. LOL? Who said that anymore? Writing out ‘hahahaha’ felt wrong, also. Evan settled for a laugh-cry emoji. That was normal, right?

Did Connor think he was weird?

Ah, no, Connor definitely thought he was weird. He didn’t want Evan to talk to him, remember? And how could he not think he was weird? Evan was weird. He fell out of a tree, for goodness sake.

Just a weird ball of anxiety, that’s what he was.

Welp, that’s enough self-deprecation for the day. Time to make some dinner, then go to bed. He had school tomorrow.

\---

_Connor: Day 2_

Sent at 3:02 AM.

What was he doing up so late? Or early? Evan hoped he got some sleep.

Evan ~~worried~~ wondered about this all day. Enough so that Jared broke out of his excited chatter about the party later that day to complain about Evan’s lack of listening.

“I-I’m listening!” Evan said hastily.

“Good!” Jared slammed a binder of paper in front of him. “Since I’m going to the party, and you aren’t going to be doing anything at home, can you write my essay for me? And do the rest of my homework.”

“Um, isn’t that cheating?”

“Well…” Jared shrugged. “I’ve got to go to this party, or my social status will plummet. But I’ve got to do this essay, or my grades will get crushed and my parents won’t let me go to anymore parties.”

“Uh…”

“You don’t want to be the one that makes me fail, do you?”

Evan gulped. “I’ll do it, I guess. But only this once! Never again!”

“Thanks, Treeboy!”

Evan slipped the heavy binder into his backpack (retrieved after exactly 7 minutes and 34 seconds of dithering and several apologies) and spaced out for the rest of the day. In fact, he only zoned back in when a loud honk sounded from the road next to him as he was walking home.

“Hey, Hansen!” Connor shouted from the driver’s seat. “I didn’t know you walked home.”

Evan shrugged. “N-normally I don’t…”

Connor jerked his head. “Get in, then.”

“H-huh?”

“Get in!”

“Okay!”

Evan had to admit his confusion. Didn’t Connor not want to be seen around him? That’s what he said at therapy. Why was Connor talking to him, then? He shouldn’t feel obligated to! Oh no, did Evan mess up somehow? Was Connor going to yell at him??

Evan sat awkwardly in the passenger’s seat, hugging his backpack shyly. “...So, where’s your sister?”

“She’s going to some stupid party.” Connor replied. “Didn’t even invite me. Rude.”

“Oh. Uh, did you want to go?”

“Nah.” Connor hummed. “Would have been nice to be invited, though.”

Evan knew exactly how he felt. “Jared’s at that party, too.”

“Figures.” Connor snorted. “Hey-”

_Oh no, here it comes,_ Evan thought with dread.

“-Are you doing anything after school?”

“Uh,” Not yet, then. Connor must be really angry. Evan shifted uncomfortably. “...Homework.”

“Lame.” Connor turned into Evan’s neighborhood. “Mind if I hang around?”

“What?”

“Can I crash at your place for a bit?”

“Why??”

Connor’s expression darkened. “My parents are being annoying. Dad tried to throw out my meds, and Mom keeps bothering me about you.”

“Oh.” Guess that’s what this is about. Evan felt small. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s not your fault.” Connor said. “Never think that it is your fault when it comes to my parents.”

“Sorry.”

“... So, can I stay or not?”

“Eh…” Oh, his house was a mess right now, wasn’t it? “Yeah… turn here.”

Connor pulled into Evan’s driveway and followed him to the front door. Evan unlocked the door and led him inside.

“Sorry about the mess…”

Connor snorted. “You think this is a mess? Wait ‘til you see my room.”

Evan dropped his backpack by the coffee table. “Uh… do you want something to drink?”

“Water, I guess.”

Evan walked to the kitchen and pulled out a glass, filled it then went back to the living room. “Here. Please don’t spill, Mom’ll kill me.”

“Thanks.” Connor pulled a bottle of pills out of his bag, quickly retrieving one. Evan panicked for a second, before recognizing the pills to be for depression. It must be time for Connor to take his meds.

“Er, what do you want to do?” Evan asked hesitantly.

“You’ve gotta do homework, right?” Connor asked, flopping onto the couch. “I’ll just watch TV or something until you’re done.”

“Uh, okay… here’s the remote.” Evan handed it over. “You can watch whatever you want.”

Evan sat down on the floor by the coffee table and pulled out his homework. He didn’t have much, having finished most of it yesterday, but he had new assignments to take care of. But he did have Jared’s work to worry about, and he knew for a fact that Jared put things off until the last minute. There was bound to be a lot of it…

For a good twenty minutes, the living room was full of the quiet scratching of a pencil and soft natural sounds from a nature documentary.

“Didn’t you just do that?”

Evan looked up at Connor. Connor was staring at Jared’s copy of their math worksheet, eyebrows furrowed.

“Uh.” Evan froze. “No?”

“I’m sure you did.” Connor leaned forward. “That’s Castillow’s homework.”

“Yeah- hey!”

Connor snatched the homework away. “Why does this have Kleinman’s name on it?”

“I-It’s not what it looks like!” Evan snatched it back, carefully smoothing out the creases.

“Really?” Connor scoffed. “‘Cause it looks like you’re doing his homework for him.”

“It’s really not! He wanted to go to that party, but-” Evan grew more flustered with every word. “-He couldn’t write his essay at the same time, a-and I figured I might as well help him with the rest of his homework, too!”

“He should do his own work.” Connor said angrily. “Idiots… Zoe tried to get me to do the same thing once. The teachers noticed the difference in quality immediately.”

Evan’s eyes widened and he looked at the homework in panic. Were the answers at Jared’s level? Was he going to be caught?? Would Jared get in trouble??? What if he stopped being Evan’s friend-

Connor sighed, then grabbed the remote. He paused the documentary and slipped down onto the floor next to Evan. “Give it here, Blueboy.”

“Blueboy?”

Connor glanced at Evan. “You’re always wearing blue.”

“Oh.” Evan picked at his shirt self-consciously.

“What kind of grades does Kleinman normally get?”

“Uh… C’s?”

Connor sighed. “Of course.” He started scribbling away on a piece of loose leaf.

“Um, shouldn’t we be giving him the best answers?” Evan asked hesitantly.

“Nope.” Connor popped the P. “He just asked for it to get done, so it will. Now, give him this and tell him to copy it, that way it’s in his handwriting.”

“...Why are you doing this?”

“What, helping you?” Connor shrugged. “I’m bored, I guess.”

Evan’s eyes widened. “You didn’t have to keep the documentary on if it was boring!”

Several moments passed as Connor put the finishing touches on the homework. Connor peeked at his phone. “Ugh. I should probably go home now.”

“O-oh, okay…”

Connor stood up. “Uh. Have you had dinner with your mom yet?”

Evan winced. “Not yet… Mom’s been working late… Have you washed your hair…?”

Connor ran a hand through his hair, looking at it thoughtfully. “No… maybe I should, though.”

And with that, he left. The front door shut with a “Later, Blueboy!”

...Did Evan have a nickname? That’s a friend thing, right? Were they friends??

...Evan kind of hoped they were. It’d be nice, having another friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jared acts like he has a SQUIP, doesn’t he?
> 
> He doesn’t but ehhhh…
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys like the chapter! Now, I am not diagnosed with anxiety or depression, so it’s not like I have any personal experience to draw from. So I’ve got to rely on the internet. If any of you guys feel comfortable enough to tell me some things you struggle with, or experiences you have had, feel free to tell me if you want to. THERE IS NO PRESSURE. You guys are so brave and I am proud of you for dealing with this to the best of your ability.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please check out my other fics, and my instagram (@projectprismatic). Please comment, and maybe leave a kudos? I'd appreciate it.
> 
> Appreciate you all! ~BlackPolaris


End file.
